Okay, I've got to be fair. Dale Rolfe, one of my favorite players on the Springfield Indians, retired after four full years with Eddie Shore's Tribe, and eight seasons in the National Hockey League, and that was back in 1975.

Adam Phillips, a promising UMass freshman defenseman, was born Aug. 11, 1990, some 44 years after Rolfe had his first junior season with the Barrie Flyers. Maybe that's why he hasn't heard of him. Can you imagine that? How sad. And Adam's favorite team is the Detroit Red Wings, and note that Rolfe played 64 games for them. He ended his career playing five years with the New York Rangers. These kids today.

While sitting in on the weekly UMass hockey coaches show Tuesday night with the team's former broadcaster Donnie Moorhouse, I was disgusted when the former goaltender acknowledged he had never heard of Dale Rolfe either. I was beginning to think I was the only one who had ever heard of Dale Rolfe. I almost asked Jamii the waitress if she had heard of him. I figured Donnie must have missed some hockey history doing concert reviews, so I would forgive him.

I mean Dale Rolfe's mid-1960's photo with the Indians sells for $74.95 on EBay.

But then UMass coach Toot Cahoon came to my rescue. Not only did Toot know who Dale Rolfe was, but he went into detail about Rolfe's receding hairline. How refreshing.

But I had to bring Rolfe up because Phillips reminds me of him. Rolfe was a lanky 6-foot-4 defenseman who often played alongside Indian legends like Bill White and Dave Amadio. And like Phillips, he had a scoring touch. Rolfe was converted from a forward to a defenseman, and in the Indians' wildcat strike year of 1966-67 that changed the labor management rules of professional sports, he scored 14 goals and had 35 assists for 49 points in 67 games. In those days, that's a lot of points from the blueline.

Phillips is also lanky, taller at 6-5, 3/4, and hardly a moose at 184 pounds. But even though he skates on the right side, and Rolfe was on the left, he seems to have that same lean and a sense of timing to when to go for the puck. Rolfe had that, and he needed it as old Indian fans know because his defensive partner - the late Mr. Amadio from Cape Breton - was nuts. Dave spent a majority of his time smashing people into he boards, and beating them up with his fists. How can any of you geezers out there forget the New Years night game (1965?) when he pounded Brian Conacher into the ice in that tough 1-0 loss to Amerks goaltender Bobby Perrault? From the stands, all you could see was Amadio's fists going up and down.I was a kid then, I loved it.

Well, anyway, Adam, from Farmington Hills, Mich., already has three goals for the Minutemen, who have been having some trouble scoring. And, I have to admit that in the exhibition game against New Brunswick, he made me a bit nervous out there on defense. Now, that's not the case. It almost seems that the better the team, the more his play picks up.

For the record, Adam's family was all into Notre Dame football, and his brother Brad played collegiate hockey at Notre Dame as a goaltender. Adam said Tuesday night that during Brad's recruiting visit to South Bend, he had the thrill of watching a Notre Dame football game against Penn State.

I betcha Adam's heard of Knute Rockne though? Why not Dale Rolfe?.

Rolfe is also known for getting his head beat in by Dave "the Hammer" Schutlz in a game that none of his Ranger teammates came to his defense. And Dale's career was cut short by a broken ankle, so not everything went well.

But Adam Phillips reminds me a little of him, and that's good.

But coach Cahoon spoiled my course in comparative history by issuing both of us one sobering thought:

"Mr. Phillips needs to know that he's a long way from being Dale Rolfe."